Our roundup of the latest news from metro Detroit and Michigan businesses as well as announcements from government agencies. To share a business or nonprofit story, please send us a message.
Fisher Building to Host Holiday Market with 20+ Retailers on Saturday
The Fisher Building invites everyone to its Holiday Market, featuring more than 20 retailers, from noon-5 p.m. Dec. 16.
Among the retailers will be pop-ups offering clothing, home goods, health and beauty products, jewelry and accessories, baked goods, holiday decor, and more.
In addition to shopping, watch the “Rudolph the Red-Noses Reindeer” musical is playing at the Fisher Theatre and architectural tours will be given.
“The holidays are a great time to experience the historic Fisher Building,” says Clarke Lewis, president of The Platform. “There is a reason it’s one of the city’s top tourist attractions and knows as Detroit’s Largest Art Object. By combining the holiday market, theatre performances, and tours, the Fisher offers something for everyone and a memorable holiday experience.”
The pop-up vendors are graduates of TechTown’s Retail Boot Camp, an intensive, hands-on, 12-week program that prepares emerging entrepreneurs for the opening of their brick-and-mortar establishments in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park.
Pop-up vendors at the Holiday Market include:
- Bowaholic – Locally made hairbows and accessories for mothers and daughters.
- CommodiTeas – Custom tea blends and tea-related gift items.
- Estella’s Vegan Desserts – Vegan baked goods and poundcakes.
- Inkcourage – Encouraging words on apparel, accessories, and gifts.
- Konjo Me – Ethiopian bagged coffee, spice blends, and home goods.
- Love Travels Imports – Ethically sourced imported gifts and accessories from Haiti, Guatemala, Peru, and South Africa.
- Midcio – Locally designed homeware and gifts.
- Modestia Collection/ Yalla Detroit – Scarves, headwraps, turbans, and hijabs, and Arabic calligraphy-inspired streetwear.
- Naturally Illustrated – Locally designed coloring books and colorable gifts.
- Preva Body – Locally made natural skin care.
- Serenityy The Brand – Handmade gold-fill jewelry.
- Whimsy & Wine – Handmade wooden holiday signs, decor, and ornaments.
Participating Fisher Building retailers and food providers include:
- Alcott’s Attic – Pop-up, independent bookstore.
- Boho Luxe Detroit – Designing luxurious, nourishing, and indulgent products.
- The Fashion Place – Women’s boutique.
- Mature – Lifestyle clothier.
- MG Studio Salon — Provides healthy hair through plant-based product.
- The Peacock Room – Women’s apparel (0-22) and accessories, stationery, and gifts.
- Promenade Artisan Foods – European style eatery specializing in artisan breads, pastries, and coffee.
- Pure Detroit – Original local culture shop.
- Russell’s Pharmacy and Convenience Store – Pharmacy and one-stop convenience shopping.
- Shy vs Bold – Eclectic mix of clothing, jewelry, and accessories from all around the world.
- Stella Good Coffee – Locally roasted coffee, tea, daily baked goods.
- Yarn Nerds – Hand-dyed yarn and patterns.
Profilence, TomTom Work to Expedite Deployment of Advanced Digital Cockpit Solutions
Profilence, a software quality analytics solutions provider in automotive, medical, and smart device segments, is collaborating with TomTom on the latter’s TomTom Digital Cockpit.
The goal is to streamline the integration process for OEMs seeking to incorporate TomTom’s Digital Cockpit while leveraging Profilence’s expertise in long-term stability and performance defect analysis.
In contrast to traditional quality assurance methods that involve prolonged fleet trials generating incomplete data, Profilence has pioneered advanced technologies and methodologies for simulating end-user behavior within controlled laboratory conditions.
This approach, utilizing test rigs and Profilence’s QA Suite, empowers OEMs and Tier1 suppliers to rapidly acquire reliable information on system resiliency and root causes of issues during the research and development phase, all within days.
TomTom accelerates its digital cockpit development and customer delivery processes by adopting the company’s solutions and integrating them into its daily engineering practices. TomTom Digital Cockpit licensees now have an option to immediately start analyzing the quality of their integrated infotainment systems, as the needed adaptations have been built into the Profilence QA Suite proactively.
Eaton Cummins Endurant XD Transmission Available in Freightliner and Western Star Vocational Products
Eaton Cummins Automated Transmission Technologies in Galesburg has announced its Endurant XD series automated transmission now is available in select vocational Western Star and Freightliner models, both of which are subsidiaries of Daimler Truck North America (DTNA).
As part of the Cummins integrated powertrain, Endurant XD and Endurant XD Pro, paired with the Cummins X12 or X15 engine, are available in the Western Star 47X and 49X and the Freightliner 114SD PLUS.
The Endurant XD series are all-new, purpose-built, 18-speed automated manual transmissions designed for applications with high gross combined weight ratings, such as heavy-haul and double- and triple-trailer tractors, and heavy-duty vocational trucks operating in harsh environments.
The Endurant XD has undergone millions of miles of testing from Australia to Mexico, in a variety of applications including dump and logging trucks. Its robust design features encapsulate electronics that are protected from the environment and provides operators with oil pressure and temperature information to ensure performance in extreme conditions.
Priority Health Total Health Foundation Gives $375K to Southeast Michigan Nonprofits
The Priority Health Total Health Foundation announces six recipients of its year-end grants who are actively engaging and promoting children, adolescents, older adults and those with disabilities in the Detroit area.
The funds will support academics, career opportunities, mental health, living arrangements and a variety of other services for underserved populations that include school-age girls of color and children of incarcerated parents.
The six recipients of Priority Health Total Health Foundation grants include:
- Figure Skating in Detroit
- Futures Foundation
- Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities (LAHC)
- Give Merit
- Presbyterian Villages of Michigan
- Pure Heart Foundation
Vince & Joe’s Gourmet Market Donates to Team Angels
Vince & Joe’s Gourmet Market in Clinton Township presented a check for $9,300 to the Team Angels Foundation on Dec. 8.
“We are so grateful and humble to all the Vitale family and to the cashiers who do the asking,” says Rosalba Pacella, founder and president of Team Angel. “This year’s donation will go to Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital for breast cancer research.”
Vince & Joe’s has been supporting Team Angels each October when customer donations are collected at both stores. This donation is on behalf of all Vince & Joe’s customers. Since 2005 Vince & Joe’s has been supporting the Team Angels Foundation with more than $45,000 donated so far, this year’s donation being the largest so far. Vince & Joe’s employees and the Vitale family are very proud of this year’s efforts and are committed to serving the community and giving back.
Wayman Value Investing Launches Michigan-based Newsletter
Wayman Value Investing, a Bloomfield Hills newsletter publishing company, has launched a monthly newsletter that provides quality investment research and guidance for self-directed investors.
Years of trustworthy, original research are available to give investors the confidence to manage their portfolios, Wayman says.
“Our monthly newsletters provide our subscribers with exclusive stock picks and analysis, portfolio insights, and market insights to help them get the best deals while understanding the market.”
Wayman’s mission, the company says, is to find the best stock deals the market has to offer and present them as actionable ideas to its subscribers.
For more information, visit here.
Great Lakes Water Authority Activates New Communications and Marketing Partnership
The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) has selected the partnership VVK PR + Creative, The Martin Group, and Hearst (Team MVH) as the official communications and marketing agency of record (AOR) for the authority.
The multi-year selection, which started Dec. 1, follows a competitive procurement process conducted by the GLWA during summer 2023.
Team MVH was formed to combine national reach and expertise with deep local knowledge, experience, and relationships in order to enhance and support GLWA’s brand position, media relations efforts, and overall public communications.
VVK PR + Creative Senior Account Executive Stephen Jones will serve as the primary point of contact for media inquiries.
The Martin Group is a Buffalo, N.Y.-headquartered integrated communication firm that works with best-in-class organizations ranging from middle-market businesses to global enterprises and has extensive experience in various civic categories including government entities, public-private partnerships, commissions, authorities, and more. The Martin Group has worked with several major water authorities, as well as various Fortune 500 companies and other large, international brands.
New York-based Hearst is one of the nation’s largest global, diversified information, data, services, and media companies.
Senior Projects Reveal Skills Learned at Lawrence Tech in Southfield
Seventeen senior capstone projects presented Dec. 8 at the end of the fall 2024 semester at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield by students in the LTU College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The projects combined sensors, software, processors, and motors to accomplish their robotic tasks.
The projects included:
- A white cane for a blind person that detects objects in the user’s path, alerting them with a buzzer, and lights up when it’s dark to make the blind person more visible to others.
- A robotic snowplow that automatically detects the dimensions of a parking lot and avoids obstacles.
- A smart gardening robot that automatically turns on the sprinklers when it senses that the soil is getting dry — and that even sounds an alarm to scare off that pesky possum before she digs into your lettuce.
- A system of sensors to help drivers quickly find open parking spots in crowded parking lots.
- An improved system for ventilated auto seating, developed in partnership with the Southfield-based automotive electronics supplier Lear Corp.
- A two-camera system to detect defective parts on the assembly line that’s less expensive than a 3-D system.
- Low-cost wearable technology to detect patient falls in health care settings.
- A wheel sweeping system to divert debris away from casters in factory and laboratory settings.
- A hydroponic factory farming management system that uses sensors to regulate water and light conditions.
- A dynamic traffic light operating system that uses sensors of traffic density rather than time to control the duration of red and green lights.
- An advanced touch-screen-based restaurant ordering system.
- A greenhouse monitoring and management system using sensors to analyze light, temperature, humidity, and soil moisture for optimal growing conditions.
- A mobile storage unit that follows its owner around using cell phone tracking.
- A prepayment system for electricity usage from utilities.
- A security door system that locks and unlocks based on facial recognition technology.
- A portable, battery-operated scoreboard system printed on a vinyl substrate that can be rolled up like a tarp for transport.
Highland Engineering in Howell Receives HIRE Vets Medallion Award
Highland Engineering Inc. (HEI) in Howell has received the HIRE Vets Medallion award from the United States Department of Labor for the fourth consecutive year.
The HIRE Vets Medallion award is the only federal-level veterans’ employment award that recognizes a company or organization’s commitment to veteran hiring, retention, and professional development. HEI is one of only eight awardees in Michigan.
“HEI exists to serve the needs of our military. It only makes sense that we would prioritize the hiring and retaining of veterans who enjoy being able to continue to support the Department of Defense – just now in a different way,” says Ralph Beebe, president of HEI.
Michigan Science Center to Host LEGO Build Challenge Workshops Dec. 16-17
The Michigan Science Center (Mi-Sci) will feature Master LEGO Builder Tim Croll and founder of the Michigan LEGO User Group, Chris Leach, in LEGO workshops at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 16 and 17. The event will take place in the workshop area of Mi-Sci’s Towers of Tomorrow with LEGO Bricks exhibit, which showcases the world’s tallest skyscrapers, made of LEGO Bricks.
Additionally, Leach will take over Mi-Sci’s Science Stage at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to provide a live demonstration using LEGO bricks.
All these events are included with purchase of a general admission ticket. Workshops require a free ticket, which are available day of at the Box Office at Mi-Sci.
Kettering Team Wins Audience Award at Future of Energy Mobility Challenge
A team led by Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Chen Duan from Kettering University in Flint placed among the top three and earned the Audience Award at the Future of Energy for Mobility Challenge on Nov. 27.
The event, sponsored by Plastic Omnium and SoScience, is a global competition to find innovative solutions to reduce energy consumption in the mobility sector and promote clean energy integration. About 200 applicants from around the world participated in the four-round competition.
The Kettering project, “Solar Micromobility,” includes a hybrid battery management system (BMS) with integrated solar energy harvesting. This leverages solar power to help with battery balancing and ensure this vital aspect is achieved using renewable solar energy. The BMS seamlessly transitions to activate battery balancing even when sunlight is scarce, including at night, to guarantee year-round battery protection without energy waste.
The jury selected the top teams and projects based on the following criteria:
- The innovation of the proposed solution emphasizing feasibility and scalability
- The overall environmental and social impacts
- The viability of the business model and the potential market sizes
- In addition to being selected as one of the top three projects, the Kettering team won the Audience Award after earning the most votes from the in-person and online audience.
Duan’s team has been working on the project for a year. He submitted the proposal to the challenge in July. After it advanced to the second round, Duan went to Paris in September to meet the other candidates. As a requirement for the second round, he connected with Acticyle, an innovative startup specializing in four-wheeled e-bikes, and Solar Cloth, a France-based leading manufacturer of state-of-the-art flexible solar panels, to expand the team.
He said this project is important because it demonstrates to the public and vehicle original equipment manufacturers and users the untapped potential of solar energy in electric vehicles.
In this case, solar power charges the batteries with clean energy and balances them, making them last longer. The battery is the most critical and expensive component in an EV, but this project demonstrates the effectiveness of the technology.
The team won $65,724.90, which it will use to develop a prototype of the Li-ion battery pack, complete with a solar-assisted battery management system. The prototype will resemble a market-ready product designed to fit the four-wheeled e-bike Acticycle is developing.
Tests will focus on efficiency, safety, and the overall robustness of the system. Once successful testing is completed and necessary certifications are granted, Acticyle will begin mass production.
MiSide Community Impact Network to Triple End-of-year Donations
MiSide Community Impact Network in Detroit, which serves nearly 25,000 clients across Detroit and Wayne County, is ramping up its end-of-year fundraising initiative. All donations up to $30,000 will be triple matched, dollar for dollar, thanks to an anonymous donor.
A donation, no matter the dollar amount, will go three times as far to support those in need during the holiday season. Those who contribute:
- $50 will become $150 to provide school supplies and a backpack to children in need.
- $100 will become $300 to provide care packages to someone in need.
- $250 will become $750 to provide children with holistic mental and physical health care.
- $375 will become $1,125 to help provide three families with holiday cheer.
- $500 will become $1,500 to help house three homeless veterans and provide them with supportive services.
- $1,000 will become $3,000 to put three adults through skilled trades training.
- $2,500 will become $7,500 to provide behavioral health services for three families in need.
To learn more about MiSide, its mission, and the services it provides, or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit MiSide.org.
